Netherlands

The latest women’s FIFA rankings were released on Friday and, to no one’s surprise, the USWNT remains No. 1. The last time the Americans fell out of the top spot was for a few months in 2017. England and Germany surged up the Top 10, but coming in at No. 10 is yet another baffling appearance from a team that hasn’t played in three years.

The Top 9 of the women’s FIFA rankings include all the usual suspects: USA, Germany, Sweden, England, France, Netherlands, Canada, Spain and Brazil, respectively. 

France advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA women’s Euro on Saturday after defeating the Netherlands 1-0. It took 102 minutes and the team’s 24th shot of the game before the French could find the back of the Dutch net.

The Netherlands deserves all the recognition in the world for one of the most valiant defensive performances ever seen. France might have been without star striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, but the team still had an onslaught of an attack.

The Netherlands, after playing with fire and group stage elimination at Euro 2022, reeled off three goals in the final minutes to turn a precarious 1-1 scoreline against Switzerland into an emphatic victory on Sunday, although the reward of passage to the quarterfinals is sobered by the fact that it's France lying in wait.

Playing again without star striker Vivianne Miedema — who was still experiencing Covid symptoms — the Dutch looked much less than the sum of their parts against a stubborn Swiss defense that threatened on the attack through the dazzling feet of Ramona Bachmann.

Defending European champion the Netherlands avoided a disastrous draw with Portugal on Wednesday after throwing away a two-goal lead thanks to an exceptional 20-yard strike from Daniëlle van de Donk that proved the match-winner, 3-2.

If anyone is complaining about the fact the men’s World Cup is not going on right now, they’re not paying attention. With four continental championships taking place across the globe, there’s no shortage of international soccer this summer. On Saturday, we saw two of the best teams in the world go toe to toe in the group stage of Euro 2022. If we’re lucky, we’ll see Netherlands vs. Sweden again in the final.

On Wednesday, July 6 at Old Trafford, England and Austria kick off the opening match of what's expected to be a thrilling and highly competitive Women’s European Championship. When looking at the groups, it's stunning to see just how many blockbuster matches are lined up. In anticipation, we’ve picked out our top five games you definitely need to circle on the calendar.

Netherlands vs. Sweden

Date: Saturday, July 9 | Time: 3:00 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN2

The UEFA Women's European Championship tournament will draw a record attendance in England this summer with 500,000 tickets already sold, UEFA said on Friday.

The tournament, postponed last year due to COVID-19, is expected to draw an audience from at least 99 countries, with 20 percent of the purchases coming from outside England.

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Netherlands manager Mark Parsons said England are favorites to win the Women's European Championship because of the depth of their squad, the strength of the Women's Super League (WSL) and the support of a home crowd.

England secured a thumping 5-1 victory over the Netherlands in a warm-up match on Friday, with substitute Beth Mead scoring twice in a dominant second-half display.